Swede Jonas Blixt is leading the rookies on day two and very much in contention to become the first debutant to win the Masters Tournament since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
Only three first time participants have won the Masters in the 80 year history of the event, Horton Smith being the first in winning the inaugural Masters Tournament in 1934 and then Gene Sarazen winning the following year. The only other case of a rookie winning was Zoeller 35 years ago but with a record 24 players experiencing the magic of the Masters for the first time, there is every chance one of them could emerge victorious.
As the second round drew to a conclusion Blixt, one of five European Tour rookies in the field, was leading that list at three under par, following his opening 70 with a second sub-par round of 71 to move to three under par and only four off the pace set by Bubba Watson.
“You want to be in contention come Saturday and Sunday,” said Blixt, playing only his third Major. “So I'm very happy with where I'm at for now. It's right where I want to be, unless I had a 20 shot lead, but that's not going to happen. You can't ask for anything else in a major championship to be up there and have a chance of winning - it's a cool, cool thing to do.”
While he joked about his lack of experience, saying it's been “a long Major history with me, as I have two underneath my belt”, the 29 year old has already some form is golf’s biggest events having finished fourth in last year’s US PGA Championship in only his second Major.
As for the test of Augusta, he said: “I just love fast greens. It's so much fun to play. And I see the lines better. There's a lot more touch around the greens. I can visualize the shots a little bit better. I really, truly enjoy it.”
As for the other European Tour debutants, Stephen Gallacher is also in the mix at one under par, Brendan de Jonge is in the clubhouse at two over and Joost Luiten, the first Dutchman to play in the Masters for 50 years. is set to progress for the weekend at four over par. Victor Dubuisson is just outside the current cut mark at five over.
